June 2019
Campus Ministry News: Graduation Edition!

Dear Friends of Campus Ministry,
I write to you from the weary tail end of graduation season with a heart that is very full. This year, we are blessing and sending out 13 gifted young adults who have been formed by and helped to shape our ministries for a number of years now. I am sad to see them go but am also so very proud of the accomplishments of our Vine class of 2019. Our communities have been blessed by the faith, leadership, and service of these young adults. I give thanks for all they have accomplished academically, but even more than that, for all the ways they have grown as people and as disciples of Christ and servants of their neighbors in the time I have known them.
We don't have room to feature all of our amazing grads in this newsletter but please read on to see a snapshot of a few of our incredible new alums and to learn where God is leading them next. This newsletter is our invitation to you to celebrate and give thanks along with us for these young people with whom God is blessing the church and our world. We hope you will enjoy celebrating with our graduates and, in this season of Pentecost, we ask you to keep all our students in prayer, that the Holy Spirit would be with them in these times of newness and change.
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Becca Seely
Executive Director
Lutheran Ministries in Higher Education of NYC
P.S. As you will see below, this ministry is shaping the lives of students who are going out to change our world for the better, and none of it is possible without your support. If you haven't yet given this year, please consider giving to support The Vine. Your gift will touch students today and help to nurture the future of Church. Thank you!
I write to you from the weary tail end of graduation season with a heart that is very full. This year, we are blessing and sending out 13 gifted young adults who have been formed by and helped to shape our ministries for a number of years now. I am sad to see them go but am also so very proud of the accomplishments of our Vine class of 2019. Our communities have been blessed by the faith, leadership, and service of these young adults. I give thanks for all they have accomplished academically, but even more than that, for all the ways they have grown as people and as disciples of Christ and servants of their neighbors in the time I have known them.
We don't have room to feature all of our amazing grads in this newsletter but please read on to see a snapshot of a few of our incredible new alums and to learn where God is leading them next. This newsletter is our invitation to you to celebrate and give thanks along with us for these young people with whom God is blessing the church and our world. We hope you will enjoy celebrating with our graduates and, in this season of Pentecost, we ask you to keep all our students in prayer, that the Holy Spirit would be with them in these times of newness and change.
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Becca Seely
Executive Director
Lutheran Ministries in Higher Education of NYC
P.S. As you will see below, this ministry is shaping the lives of students who are going out to change our world for the better, and none of it is possible without your support. If you haven't yet given this year, please consider giving to support The Vine. Your gift will touch students today and help to nurture the future of Church. Thank you!
Spotlight on Graduating Students

Rose Baker
Manhattan School of Music '19
Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance
Hometown: Lynchburg, VA
Next year, Rose will begin a Master of Music program in violin at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. She will be serving as a graduate assistant during her studies, which will permit her to pursue her love of teaching in addition to performance.
Alex McNab
Columbia University '19 Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Alex is a journalist and filmmaker who loves to travel to new places. Starting in the fall, he will relocate to Vietnam, where he will be completing an internship through Princeton University. He will be honing his storytelling skills as he spends the year working for a local creative agency in Hanoi. |
Christian Pisco New York University '19 Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies Hometown: South River, NJ Christian loves teaching and working with children. He will continue to follow this passion this summer by working at a nursery school in New York City and then heading to State College, PA to work as an educator at a nature center. |
Jane Ulring, Cassie Hartnett, & Alyssa Kaplan (left to right) Union Theological Seminary '19 Master of Divinity Hometowns: Minneapolis, MN; Clinton, CT; Chesapeake, VA Starting in September, Jane will be pursuing a PhD in Theology and Ethics at Loyola University in Chicago, focusing on issues of climate and creation justice. Cassie and Alyssa are candidates for ordination in the ELCA and will spend next year on their full time pastoral internships. Cassie will serve as vicar at St. John's Lutheran Church in Parkville, MD and Alyssa will serve as vicar at Breath of God Lutheran Church in southeast Baltimore, MD. |
Michelle Goff Columbia University '19 Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing Hometown: Idaho Falls, ID Michelle will be returning to her hometown of Idaho Falls, Idaho this summer to begin work at the Idaho National Laboratory. She will bring her gifts for writing to her new role as a Communications Liaison, working to foster open communication between the Lab and its constituencies across the state and country. In her free time, she will continue to write fiction. |
Other Recent Highlights from Spring Semester Include:
Students who attended the Vine's Border Immersion Trip to El Paso in January organized a forum on immigration issues in May, featuring panelists from New Sanctuary Coalition, Seafarers International House, and Movimiento Cosecha. The panel focused on work being done locally to advocate for our immigrant and asylum seeker neighbors and siblings in Christ.
This spring, students got their hands dirty volunteering at Harlem Grown, an urban farm in Manhattan. This work was part of our ministry's ongoing focus on eco-theology and environmental justice. In addition to volunteering, students also had the opportunity this semester to be in conversation with environmental theologian, Dr. Catherine Keller of Drew University School of Theology, who spent an evening with us exploring Genesis, process theology, climate change, and stewardship of creation.
In April, students headed to Bear Mountain State Park for a Day Hiking Retreat. The retreat gave students a chance to center themselves and be refreshed in creation before the stress of finals at the end of the semester.
The Vine NYC is a network of big-hearted, open-minded campus ministries serving college and graduate students across New York City. The Vine connects students with peer faith communities, local congregations and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Vine is a ministry of Lutheran Ministries in Higher Education in partnership with local congregations.